42% of teachers in Kaduna State unqualified, says Gov. El-Rufa’i

Gov. Nasiru El-Rufa’i of Kaduna State on Thursday said that over 42 per cent of teachers in Kaduna State were unqualified. El-Rufa’i stated this at the commissioning ceremony of a 1,500-seater capacity hall named after him at the Federal College of Education (FCE), Zaria, Kaduna State. The edifice was constructed by the college through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TEDFUND).

El-Rufa’i said that despite the large number of unqualified teachers, “we do not intend to sack anybody, but we want them to upgrade their knowledge. “We are lucky to have FCE, Institute of Education, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), among other teacher training institutions in the state, which are going to be used to advance the knowledge of the teachers.” While thanking FCE for the gesture, El-Rufa’i advised the management of the institution to introduce more degree courses to enable people benefit more from the college services.

Earlier, the Provost of the college, Dr Muktar Maccido said the newly commissioned hall was the biggest of its kind not only in the college but in the entire colleges of education and polytechnics across Nigeria. Macchido said the college had been transformed during his tenure as provost through staff strength and structural advancement.

“Before, the college had a little above 700 staff but now have over 2,200 staff while students’ population was initially about 4,000 but now exceeds 31,000 students,” he said. Macchido said the college had established an FM radio station, adding that a television station is expected to be on air soon.